Donut miss out on Seb’s Donuts.
Just a few months shy of the one-year anniversary of Jazzy’s Sweet Spot, the Martinez family behind the beloved Star City ice cream shop and hydrobike rentals has launched another tasty venture: Seb’s Donuts.
Although the rest of Star City is still sleeping at 2 a.m., Seb’s Donuts is wide awake and bustling with activity. The shop’s team of bakers is hard at work preparing dough from scratch, then proofing, shaping, and frying it. After that lengthy and delicate process, they carefully fill, ice, and decorate dozens of classic yeast-raised donuts. By 7 a.m., the display cases at Seb’s Donuts are bursting with old-fashioned favorites like glazed, chocolate sprinkled, and Boston cream as well as unique flavors like maple bacon, Fruity Pebbles, and Oreo.
When the donut shop celebrated its grand opening in January, it sold around 1,500 donuts in just one hour, according to owner Mateo Martinez. Since then, every day has been a sellout day. Unlike the ice cream and hydrobikes sides of things, headed by his parents, Martinez is at the helm of Seb’s Donuts—balancing entrepreneurship with his senior year of high school.
“If you put your mind to it, you can do anything you want. If you would have told me a year ago that I was going to open a donut shop, I would have probably told you that you were crazy,” says Martinez. “My biggest piece of advice would be, don’t let negative comments get to you.”
Of course, like the family’s other ventures, he doesn’t have to go it alone. Any time you stop in at Seb’s Donuts, you’re likely to find Martinez, one of his siblings, or his parents chatting with customers and helping out around the store.
Plus, he has the support of the community. He’s prioritized customer input since the beginning. Last August, followers of Jazzy’s Hydrobikes were asked to cast their votes: fresh, made-to-order donuts and coffee, or authentic wood-fired pizza?
“Almost everyone said we should open up a donut shop, because there are corporate chains, but there are no mom and pop donut shops in Morgantown,” says Martinez.
Beyond just a donut shop, people wanted the classic taste of yeast-raised donuts, as opposed to cake donuts—light and fluffy, not dense and crumbly. Flavors will rotate weekly, with the Donut of the Week inspired by social media comments. In the future, Martinez hopes to offer custom request donuts for special occasions, among other additions.
“Once we’ve nailed down our recipe and can provide the perfect donut to our customers, I’d love to add gluten-free, dairy-free, and vegan donuts—anything to provide to the different customer base that may be missing out on what we currently have,” he says.
Seb’s Donuts is currently open Wednesday through Sunday from 7 a.m. to sellout, which tends to be around noon. If you want a wide variety of flavors to choose from, Martinez suggests stopping by before 10 a.m. to beat the crowds.
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